how the germans lived in
the piedmont about 1790
Letters of p.istor reveal frontier life in
Itownn County: prosperity shone on early
settlers.
"In Salzburg, finally, according to
the German pronunciation, in reality
Salisbury, where the Rev. Mr. Storch
lives, whom I love and esteem espe¬
cially as a friend, and who has further¬
more shown me many important
favors, we were received in as friendly
a manner as could be expected. At
the first news of our arrival the elders
of the nearest of my charges, besides
several wealthy planters of those
places, hastened to the city in order to
welcome us. Compliments were here,
of course, not very freely given, never¬
theless they expressed their opinions
in such a way that there could be no
doubt of their good will. They said
that we would not find a house ready
for us. explaining that they had con¬
sidered this matter, and had deemed
it wise to postpone the erection of a
house until my arrival, so that I might
direct the building of it myself.
"Then the entire procession, in¬
creased by the Rev. Mr. Storch. started
toward the place of my destination,
which is located on Abbots Creek, a
small river which empties at about two
German miles distance into the Yad¬
kin River. One of the elders of our
centrally located charge took us with
him to his plantation where we re¬
mained several months until we moved
on our own plantation of about 200
acres, which aided by several honest
local planters, and with the advice
of Rev. Niissmann. who had already
met us at Salisbury, and of Mr. Storch.
we were able to purchase very ad¬
vantageously.
"Upon our arrival the elders of the
three charges came to visit us. A fourth
charge, which now has almost become
the largest one, was added to my cir¬
cuit. and consequently I am now the
pastor of these four congregations.
Flour, corn. hams, sausages, dried
fruits, chickens and turkeys, gccsc.
etc. were abundantly furnished from
all quarters. In fact, we have up to
the present time not paid out a cent
in our household for such things.
A picture of the Germanic settle¬
ments ami the customs of Piedmont
North Carolina is preserved in the
following portion of a letter written
in 1789 at Abbots Creek (then
Rowan County) by the Rev. Mr.
Roschen to his teacher in Bremen.
Rosclten was newly arrived in North
Carolina, and his letter reflects the
vivid impression the new world had
made on him.
The correspondence is taken from
translations by William K. Boyd and
Charles A. Krummell of Duke Uni¬
versity, and was published in the “His¬
torical Review " in 1930.
"During the first four weeks,
when I began counting the monc>
that came in as my salary. I found
that it was based on a fixed sum
of 70 pounds in metal money an¬
nually. which amounts to about
twice that amount in local paper
money. The extras (incidentals)
here are rather high: a marriage
fee without address, likewise for
a funeral address, one Spanish
Thaler; for the confirmation of a
child, likewise a Spanish Thaler.
This latter is of considerable im¬
portance. From the central charge
I confirmed twenty-four, from the
charge along the Yadkin about
twelve, and in the case of the
other I still have the task before
me.
"Funerals take place in the follow¬
ing manner: If the church is too far
removed the dead arc buried at their
home, occasionally also at the home
of a good neighbor where then grad¬
ually a sort of a churchyard is formed.
If, however, as is usually the case,
they arc brought to the church (to
a regular cemetery), the coffin is at
first placed before the front door of
the house. At the foot of the corpse
stands the preacher, and around tl
coffin on all sides, the congregatn '
"No invitations to a funeral are s<
out. Everybody considers it his di
to come, and indeed on horsebat
Then the pastor has a song, or
least a few verses, sung, after wh
he gives a short address of about ei}
to ten minutes. Meanwhile the )
of the coffin is removed and the wo-
cn crowd around uttering a pitiful w;|
Then the pastor orders the coffin
«
be closed and placed in a wag:
while the people mount their hors
"Thus after refreshments of bre!
and rum at the house of the dcceasl
the procession moves to the chur>
Upon arriving at the church the pas
commands a halt, the corpse is
down from the wagon, a few vers
are sung, the coffin is again opem,
and while singing the crowd march
by twos to the grave. After the bof
has been lowered a silent prayer .
offered and the grave is filled duri:
the singing of a song. Then still c<-
tinuing their chant they betake thc-
selves to the church where the fune i
sermon is given from the pulpit.
"Marriages here arc of two va¬
rieties. The one, according to the
church discipline, calls for three
successive announcements of the
banns. In the case of the other
which occurs with equal frequen¬
cy. the procedure is in general as
follows: The groom secures a cer¬
tificate from the Superior Officci
at Salisbury, comes riding along
with his friends of both sexes
the bride riding by his side, tc
the pastor, or if none is available
to the Justice (of the Peace)
where the ceremony is per-,
formed. He enters holding in his
right hand his flask of rum. greets
with a 'good morning,' drinks tc
the health of the one officiating
produces his certificate and ther
goes back to get his bride anc
the rest of the party.
"The questions directed to
к
20
THE STATE. PEBQUAPY 25. »9
